Big Tech results season rumbles on as Alphabet and Microsoft prepare to release numbers

Google parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) are expected to release quarterly earnings after the Wall Street close on Tuesday as the cycle of Big Tech earnings continues this week. For Alphabet, it will likely look to reassure investors that it won’t take too much of a hit from a possible global tax of tech giants proposed by US president Joe Biden. In terms of numbers, the firm is forecast to reach earnings per share of US$15.70 and revenues of US$51.4bn. READ: Markets brace for avalanche of Big Tech earnings Also of interest will be the firm’s outlook statement amid an easing of lockdown restrictions, which will have the effect of allowing people outside again and by extension spending less time on the company’s websites such as YouTube, traffic on which helped it smash earnings expectations last year. Microsoft, meanwhile, is likely to be eyed for more cloud computing news as well as any commentary on which direction the company’s acquisition will take next. READ: Discord pulls out of merger talks with Microsoft The computing giant is expected to report strong first-quarter earnings, with consensus estimates pointing to a 17% revenue rise year-on-year to US$41bn while earnings per share are forecast to hit US$1.78. The market will also be keeping a close eye on the performance of Microsoft's cloud services arm Azure, which is targeted by the firm to reach revenues of US$14.7 bn-US$14.95bn. The acquisition strategy is also in focus given recent reports that gamer chat app Discord recently pulled out of merger discussions with Microsoft that could have seen the corporation take control of a highly popular and lucrative piece of software.